Written by Mauricio Sulaiman
WBC President – Jose Sulaiman’s son
I had the great honor of being invited by Manny Pacquiao and the Elorde family to be a speaker at the first annual Philippine boxing awards, the Pakiao/Elorde Annual Awards.
This follows a 23-year tradition established by the family of legendary world champion Gabriel Flash Elorde, who this year incorporated Manny because of his illustrious boxing career.
From the moment we arrived in Manila, we were met with smiles, kindness, and hospitality that are very similar to those in Mexico.
When I visited the center of the walled city called Intramuros, I found a bronze statue of former Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos and a sculpture commemorating the city's 300-year relationship with Acapulco. There were important commercial connections. The best barter!
The ceremony at Flash Elorde's grave was very moving and I laid flowers together with two legendary champions, Elvito Salabarria and Rolando Navarrete, after which we will forever remember the deceased. We enjoyed a meal with the family of a great champion.
The Philippines was one of the 11 countries to form the World Boxing Council (WBC) in 1963. Justiano Montano is his third president of our organization, and in our 61 years of existence we have had national federation presidents as members of our Board of Directors.
The country has produced 47 world champions, 15 of them from the WBC, all of outstanding caliber, including Herorde and Pacquiao, as well as Nonito Donaire and Luisito Espinoza. It also produces some of the best boxers of all time.
I spent countless hours by Manny's side, but only now did I realize his sincere simplicity, as well as his big-hearted generosity and sincere kindness. He never refuses an autograph or photo, no matter where he shows up and is overwhelmed by crowds. He also dedicated his life to serving others and providing humanitarian aid with numerous charities. All this has been going on for more than 20 years for him.
Manny is one of the greatest. He is the only athlete to win world titles in eight different weight categories. He began his reign with the WBC flyweight title and ended it with the WBC super welterweight title defeating Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium.
He is known as the Mexican Executioner, with impressive victories over Erick Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar Larios, Antonio Margarito and Jorge Solis, among others.
We have signed a series of very interesting agreements. This year 2024, we plan to organize a bilateral tournament between Mexico and the Philippines, gather a group of national athletes in June to play against the best Filipinos, and invite them to our country at the end of the year is. Also in October 2025, one of the most important fights in history, the three-fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, known as the Manila Thrilla, promoted by the legendary Don King and Bob Arum. A grand celebration is planned to commemorate the 50th anniversary. , is remembered and revered as one of the most spectacular.
Ali successfully defended his WBC world title with a 14th round technical knockout victory. Muhammad was exhausted and asked his corner to stop the fight after the bell rang. But Angelo Dundee begged him to give him fire so he could stop the fight, but not while he was sitting in a chair. Ali accepted, but seconds later Frazier's corner kick threw in the towel and Muhammad won.
Last weekend, terrible battles took place around the world. Argentina's Yamil Peralta traveled to South Africa to defeat local Thabiso Mchunu by split decision, while Japan's Masanori Chikaraishi attacked in Rome after being trailed by more than four points on all three judges' scorecards. , and knocked out Thabiso Mchunu at the time. Super Featherweight Silver Champion Michael Magnesi.
The WBC's rule of releasing the referee's official scores after the fourth and eighth rounds worked perfectly, achieving the goal of a dramatic conclusion for the fans. In England, Mexico's Jose Chong Zepeda was knocked out by a monumental body shot from Dalton Smith, the Briton who won the WBC super lightweight silver belt.
Did you know that…?
Manny Pacquiao won his first WBC diamond belt by knocking out the great champion Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas.
today's anecdote
We were in Guadalajara for the WBC light fly world title fight between Filipino monarch Rodel Mayor and Mexico's Omar Niño. A close battle from bell to bell. The instant replay rule introduced by the WBC was just the beginning.
In the fourth round, when Niño landed a low blow, Mayol became dissatisfied, lowered his guard, turned to Las Vegas referee Vic Dralic, and immediately advanced toward them, yelling, “Stop!” I was already on a roll. He reversed with a left hook and the Filipino fighter was knocked out.
Fans went wild and celebrated the Guadalajara fighter's apparent knockout, but the referee yelled for the act to stop, ruled the blow was illegal, and disqualified Niño.
The father remained calm and asked the umpire to check the action on a monitor provided by the television station, and justice was done when he saw that Niño had already started hitting before the umpire's instructions. It was a foul and a “no contest” was decided. Therefore, a direct rematch was ordered. A few months later, Niño won the title by defeating Mayor in San Juan del Rio, Queretaro.
Thank you for your comments in [email protected]
